On stage at A Night Before Christmas. MC Will Johnston from The Hits Bay of Plenty, with Event Director Luisa Schroder, and internationally acclaimed musicians Anna and Dominic Lee
On stage at A Night Before Christmas. MC Will Johnston from The Hits Bay of Plenty, with Event Director Luisa Schroder, and internationally acclaimed musicians Anna and Dominic Lee
When Bethlehem College former music teacher Ruth Sweetman first met internationally acclaimed cellist Dominic Lee, he was just 7 years old and the cello was bigger than him.
But she spotted "something special" and told the young primary school boy she would one day see him play on the London stage.
"She inspired me to pursue a career in music," Lee said, reunited with his former teacher on Saturday night when she came to see him perform with his violinist sister Anna at A Night Before Christmas, an annual event of music and entertainment which draws thousands of Bay locals to celebrate the magic of Christmas under the star-studded skies of New Zealand's very own Bethlehem.
Lee, now 21, lives permanently in New York with Anna, 19. The two former Bethlehem College students travelled to the US at just 16 after both scored international music prizes in Italy.
Both attended Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, a top music school.
Dominic Lee is now halfway through his music doctorate and has performed at the world-famous Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, New York.
Lee told Sweetman last night that she better book her ticket to the UK, as he was already in talks about a potential London show with Guy Johnston, a world-renowned British cellist and former BBC musician of the year who is currently Lee's associate professor at Eastman.
Violinist Anna Lee and cellist Dominic Lee, on stage at A NIght Before Christmas. Photo / Jack Neale
Despite international fame, the Lee siblings' highlight of the year was the chance to play to a 10,000 strong crowd at their old stomping ground of Bethlehem College, proudly supported by their mother, herself a former opera singer from South Korea.
Luisa Schroder, director of the annual family-friendly event of live music, entertainment, food, fun and fireworks, said the Lee family's story epitomised the philosophy of A Night Before Christmas.
Community, family, kindness and connections are celebrated
"Families of all generations making memories, special moments with locals generously inspiring us with an array of talents."
Ballerina Arabella Moore, 16, with siblings Dominic and Anna Lee. Photo/ Jack Neale
The drug and alcohol-free event, now in its 23rd year, welcomes people of all ages, religions and beliefs and is part of a Christmas tradition for many in the Bay, Schroder said.
"Community, family, kindness and connections are celebrated, and these are at the heart of a good life, whatever your particular faith."
The audience was also dazzled by performers who starred in top shows and musicals this year on the stage including Tiffany Wilkinson and Bailey Hocking, who had lead roles as Glinda the Good Witch and Fiyero in Tauranga Musical Theatre's recent stunning production Wicked.
Caitriona Fallon, who starred in iconic Tauranga show Tarnished Frocks & Divas, performed a heart-wrenching performance of Snow Patrol's Run which had the crowd entranced.
Young families flocked to the Kids Zone created by Above & Beyond Early Childhood Centres with bouncy castles, face painting, a petting zoo with real donkeys, and a new surprise addition for this year - a Christmas themed ice palace where children were spellbound by real ice underfoot, snow falling from the sky, and a red carpet which led to Elsa and Olaf themselves.
L-R Shawn Crane (dad), Gabriel (7), Ezra (4), Micah (2) with 'Elsa' and 'Olaf' at A Night Before Christmas. Photo / Jack Neale
More merry magic was provided throughout the night by jugglers, stilt walkers and circus performers who blended into the crowd along with angels big and small who gave out candles.
As the sunset and younger families went home, the teens, parents and grandparents, fuelled with coffee and treats from the array of food trucks, went moshing to The Late 80s Mercedes Band - a 10-piece swing, brass and rock band.
After the huge fireworks exploded a burst of colour into the crisp Tauranga night, the joyful crowd trickled home, still buzzing from music, many in the crowd looking up, as if searching for an extra twinkle in Bethlehem's December sky.
A Night Before Christmas Started in 1996 by the Bethlehem Baptist Church the event grows bigger and more spectacular each year with fellow trustees ECT, and Tauranga City Council.
"The event has grown even more thanks to partnerships with Generator Rental Services, ATF Fencing, Pac N Save, GJ McLeod's Cranes and Farmer Autovillage, who are also key stakeholders as well as our media partners Bay of Plenty Times, indulge magazine and The Hits Bay of Plenty," organiser Luisa Schroder said.
Bethlehem College sponsors the facilities. The whole Bay of Plenty community pitches in to support the free event.
